DQ Grill & Chill®

As you know, site selection is critical to the potential success of a new restaurant. DQ® ’s Real Estate Managers work with franchisees in reviewing our site criteria and market trade areas for development of DQ Grill & Chill restaurants.  This ensures that development in a large market area is well planned to maximize the DQ Brand, Awareness & Presence.

Currently, we are focusing our DQ Grill & Chill restaurant development primarily in free-standing facilities.  We will consider dual-use and end-cap opportunities in certain limited circumstances provided the restaurant will have an efficient drive-thru service lane and the DQ portion of the facility will convey the full DQ Grill & Chill exterior signage and image – including the stone chimney, lighting band, and alpolic panel.

If your proposed site meets our standard site criteria, we will first determine whether the site is available for DQ Grill & Chill development. If your proposed site is available for DQ Grill & Chill development, and you're a developer, we will share your site information with existing and prospective franchisees who are interested in development in that area. If one or more of these individuals is interested in your proposed site, they will contact you directly. If you're a prospective franchisee, we will work with you to determine if your site is viable for DQ Grill & Chill development.  This information is intended to provide you with general criteria for a DQ Grill & Chill restaurant site.  Opportunities may exist for sites that vary from the standard site criteria listed below.

Site Criteria

Minimum Lot Size:

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34,000 Square Feet with 121’ Frontage

Building Sizes:

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2,500 Square Feet

Parking:

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Minimum of 46 Parking Spaces

Traffic Count Minimum:

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20,000 Daily Average

Employees:

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5,000 (3 minute drive-time)

Median Household Income:

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Minimum of $35,000

DQ Grill & Chill Image:

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Logos and building design and materials allowed

Drive-Thru:

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Site can acquire drive-thru zoning approval

 

  • Traffic for all critical day parts (lunch, afternoon treat, dinner, evening treat)
  • Corner locations or locations with great visibility and easy ingress/egress
  • Close proximity to traffic generators and retail
  • Sites will be considered based on a combination of factors
  • Strip centers, store fronts and non-traditional locations will be subject to the above referenced market factors and design criteria, including logos

Please review our prototypical DQ Grill & Chill restaurant design. GC 2500

If you currently have a site available for possible development and the site meets our criteria outlined above, please email your site for our consideration, along with the following items:

  • Dimensional site plan showing the location of the building on the lot or location within the shopping center
  • Dimensioned exterior elevation illustrating the area available for our standard DQ signage
  • Floor plans of space
  • Photos of site or space
  • City map indicating location of the proposed site and location of competitors
  • Traffic count map
  • Availability of utilities
  • CAD drawings of property
  • Menu restrictions, if any
  • Lot layouts, price of the lot, land lease details, contacts and phone numbers, build to suit information
  • Drive-thru’s allowed, signage requirements, average cost/rent figures, development plans in the area and demographics

DQ Orange Julius Treat Center®

In the mall environment, our Lease Managers maintain relationships and on-going contact with the major mall developers regarding potential sites in large regional malls. They assist with lease negotiations and work with franchisees to review potential sites for new locations.

As a result of the wide variety of space size and configuration, as well as the various potential location positions, our Lease Management department will provide guidance on site selection.

Following is a review of our standard site criteria.  This information is intended to provide you with general criteria for a Treat Center store site.  Opportunities may exist for sites that vary from the standard site criteria listed below.

 Preferred Site Requirements

  • Class A mall with overall mall retail sales in excess of $300 per square foot.
  • The mall must be a minimum of 600,000 square feet with three major anchors (preferably 850,000+ square feet of gross leaseable area).
  • Store space of 600-800 square feet with a minimum of 18 feet of frontage.
  • Kiosk space of 240 square feet with 250 square fee of off site storage.
  • High traffic area of the mall, preferably just outside the food court or near the center of the mall on a main mall corridor.
  • Class B and C malls with mall retail sales less than $300 per square foot will be considered based on overall economics and possible landlord incentives.
If you currently have a site available for possible development and the site meets our criteria outlined above, please email your site for our consideration.

Thank you for your interest in our DQ restaurant concepts!

The above information is subject to change by American Dairy Queen Corporation at its sole discretion.



"After three years of intense searching for a new concept to add to our business portfolio, the DQ Grill & Chill® was a perfect choice. The DQ Grill & Chill concept fills a major void in the food service industry."

Scott Lukas, DQ Grill & Chill® Franchisee, Rosedale, MD